The Place Charles de Gaulle (), historically known as the Place de l'Étoile (), is a large

road junction A junction is where two or more roads meet. History Roads are a means of transport, historically linking locations such as towns, forts and geographic features such as river fords. Where roads met outside of an existing settlement, these junct ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues (hence its historic name, which translates as "Square of the Star") including the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...

. It was renamed in 1970, following the death of President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

. It is still often referred to by its original name; the nearby Métro and RER station retains the designation

Charles de Gaulle–Étoile Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

. Paris's '' Axe historique'' ("historical axis") cuts through the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

, which stands at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle.

History

The original name of the area was the ''Butte Chaillot'' ("Chaillot Mound", named after the locality). At the time, it was the point of convergence of several hunting trails. The Marquis de Marigny constructed monumental roadworks, completed in 1777, on the mound when he was establishing the plantations along the

. The junction included paving of the road in the form of a star, as it still exists today and became known as the Place de l'Étoile. In 1787, the Wall of the ''Ferme générale'' (''Mur des Fermiers généraux''), and the two toll houses of the ''Barrière de l'Étoile'' (also known as the ''Barrière de Neuilly'') were built to the design of

Claude Nicolas Ledoux Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (; 21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; ...

for the collection of the

octroi Octroi (; , to grant, authorize; Lat. ''auctor'') is a local tax collected on various articles brought into a district for consumption. Antiquity The word itself is of French origin. Octroi taxes have a respectable antiquity, being known in R ...

tax at the entrance to Paris. They were located on either side of the Place de l'Étoile until their demolition after 1859. Between 1806 and 1836, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile was built to the design of Jean Chalgrin. It was originally commissioned by Emperor

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

during the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

and inaugurated three decades later by King

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

under the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

. The avenues radiating from the Place de l'Étoile were created during the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

of Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

as part of

Haussmann's renovation of Paris Haussmann's renovation of Paris was a vast public works programme commissioned by French Emperor Napoleon III and directed by his prefect of the Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870. It included the demolition of medieval ...

.de Moncan, Patrice, ''Le Paris de Haussmann'', Les Editions du Mecene, 2012 (). The square was completely redesigned with avenues de Bezons (now

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) north ...

), Joséphine (now Marceau), Kléber, de Saint-Cloud (now Victor-Hugo), Essling (now Carnot), Prince-Jérôme (now Mac-Mahon and Niel) forming with the

and other existing avenues a star around the

. In 1864, the circular street surrounding the Place de l'Étoile was named Rue de Presbourg (south of the '' Axe historique'') and Rue de Tilsitt (north of the ''Axe historique''), after the diplomatic successes of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

which led to the signing of the Treaty of Presbourg in 1805 and the

Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...

in 1807. Since 1921, beneath the Arc de Triomphe lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After the death of President

in 1970, the Place de l'Étoile was renamed the Place Charles de Gaulle.

Description

Map

The Place Charles de Gaulle has a diameter of , giving it an area of approximately . It is the second largest square in

, after the

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. It was the s ...

(8.64 hectares). At the centre of the square stands the

, which is accessible via a pedestrian underpass, to avoid the confluence of vehicular traffic from the juncture of twelve radiating avenues.

Avenues

The twelve avenues, clockwise from the north, are the following: # Avenue de Wagram (thus called since the Second Empire) and Boulevard de l'Étoile or Boulevard Bezons before # Avenue Hoche: Avenue de la Reine-Hortense during the Second Empire and Boulevard Monceau before # Avenue de Friedland since the Second Empire and Boulevard Beaujon before # Avenue des Champs-Élysées # Avenue Marceau: Avenue Joséphine during the Second Empire # Avenue d'Iéna # Avenue Kléber: Avenue du Roi-de-Rome during the Second Empire and Boulevard de

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, on the Rive Droite, Right Bank. It is adjacent to Auteuil, Paris, Auteuil to the southwest, and Chaillot to the northeast. It is home to many ...

before # Avenue Victor-Hugo: Avenue d' Eylau during the Second Empire and Avenue de

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

before # Avenue Foch: Avenue du Bois during the Third Republic and Avenue de l' Impératrice during the Second Empire # Avenue de la Grande Armée during the Second Empire and Avenue de Neuilly before # Avenue Carnot: Avenue d'

Essling Essling
Essling entry in the Viennese government's history wiki (German) () is a neighbourhood ...

during the Second Empire # Avenue Mac-Mahon: Avenue du Prince-Jérôme during the Second Empire

Axes

Paris - Orthophotographie - 2018 - Place Charles-de-Gaulle 02

The Place Charles de Gaulle is symmetrical and thus has six axes: # Axis Avenue de

and Avenue Kléber # Axis Avenue Hoche and Avenue Victor-Hugo # Axis Avenue de Friedland and Avenue Foch # Axis Avenue des

and Avenue de la

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

which is the '' Axe historique'' of Paris # Axis Avenue Marceau and Avenue Carnot # Axis Avenue d' Iéna and Avenue Mac-Mahon

Arrondissements

The Place Charles de Gaulle (as well as the

) is split between the

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

, 16th and 17th arrondissements of Paris. The 8th

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

encompasses the area between Avenue de Wagram and Avenue Marceau (to the east). The 16th arrondissement encompasses the area between Avenue Marceau and Avenue de la Grande Armée (to the south and west). The 17th arrondissement encompasses the area between Avenue de la Grande Armée and Avenue de Wagram (to the north).

Literature

'' La Place de l'Étoile'' is the title of a novel by French writer Patrick Modiano.

Transportation

:''Located near the Métro station:

.'' The Place Charles de Gaulle is served by Métro and RER services. Line 1, as well as RER A, run under the Avenue de la Grande Armée and Champs-Élysées and stop at the station. The station is also served by Line 2 and serves as the western terminus of Line 6.

Gallery

File:Collier's 1921 Vol 4 Frontispiece -- Paris.jpg, A colourised aerial photograph of the Place de l'Étoile in 1921 File:Arc de Triomphe, Paris 5 February 2019.jpg, left, The Place Charles de Gaulle seen from the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in 2019 File:place.de.l'etoile.from.35000.feet.arp.jpg, The Place Charles de Gaulle seen from an airliner at File:Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile at night 0792.jpg, The Avenue de la Grande Armée and Place Charles de Gaulle at sunset File:Arc de Triomphe vu depuis la Terrasse Publicis.jpg, The Place Charles de Gaulle at night

References

External links

Satellite image from Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Place Charles de Gaulle

Roundabouts and traffic circles National squares Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris Buildings and structures in the 16th arrondissement of Paris Buildings and structures in the 17th arrondissement of Paris Charles de Gaulle